The Mistress of Charms and Enchantment
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: In many of my stories, Severus is Harry's father. In this story as well. However, this story begins earlier - in the morning after his conception. Completely AU, partly OOC, abuse!Dursleys, de-aging, partly childfic.
1. Night of the Conception

**The Mistress of Charms and Enchantment**

**1 – Night of the Conception**

Severus lazily opened his eyes as the first rays of the early autumn sun tickled his nose. '_I can't do that anymore_,' he mused, terrified as he remembered the nightmares that had occupied his mind during the night. '_Lily is in too much danger with me_.' He sadly looked at his wife, who was still peacefully asleep with a smile playing on her lips.

Only Lily's best friend Alice and her mentor Minerva McGonagall as well as his own friend Poppy Pomfrey knew that they were married. Everyone else believed that one day Lily was going to marry James Potter. Although she had officially taken his name as Lily Snape, no one except for their three friends knew about the matter. Everyone else still called her 'Lily Evans.'

"Sev," Lily said sleepily, pulling him into a kiss. "What time is it?"

"It's still early Lily, but, I need to speak with you," Severus said, terrified about what he had to tell her. "I'm so sorry, Lily, but we have to separate. It's too dangerous for you. I spent the whole night having nightmares about the Dark Lord finding out that you're my wife, and I just can't endanger your life like that. Ever after the last Death Eater meeting a few days ago I've been worried, and I believe..."

"Sev! No!" Lily interrupted him, horrified. "I don't care if it's dangerous. I just want to be together with you. I love you more than my life."

"So do I, Lily," Severus said softly, "and because I love you, I don't want to endanger you. Lily, you must separate from me and marry Potter. He'll be able to keep you safe. Please, Lily, try to understand me. Perhaps, if the war is over, we can get together again, but I don't want the Death Eaters to come after you, and they would surely come, if the news that I was married to you made its way to the Dark Lord."

Lily buried her head in her pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm so sorry, Lily," Severus whispered in his soft, silky voice, gently rubbing circles into her back. '_I'm really sorry, but I just can't endanger her like that_,' he thought. '_She'll be better off with someone who is on the light side. Maybe we'll be able to live in better times sometime_.' With that, he merely grabbed his most important possessions and quietly left the house.

リリーの幻術能力

When Lily woke up, Severus was gone. Knowing that she had still a week of holidays left, she spent the following days at home, mourning, not wanting to share the sad news with her best friends or see anyone else. However, one morning, she woke up feeling absolutely horrible. Her stomach felt queasy and she had to throw up a few times in spite of not having eaten anything for three days. '_I better ask Poppy to check on me. It's probably only the stomach flu, but I feel so horrible, and I want to speak with Minerva anyway. There is no better time than a Sunday morning_,' she mused and quickly dressed for the first time in days, before she leaned into the fireplace and called Poppy.

"Of course you can come through, Lily," Poppy said gently and led the younger woman to a small single room behind her office, turning into Healer's mode as soon as she had helped her to lie down. "Congratulation Lily, you're pregnant," she said softly after a few waves of her wand.

"I'm WHAT?" Lily blurted out, horrified, and broke into tears. "He left me," she sobbed. "He said it was too dangerous for me to be together with him."

"Oh Lily, I'm so sorry," Poppy said softly, gently rubbing circles in the young witch's back. "Lily, I'm sure that he'll see reason and come back earlier or later. I've never known a man who loved his wife more than Severus loves you."

"He won't come back," Lily sobbed. "He told me perhaps after the war, but will it ever end? And now I'm pregnant with his child. He told me to marry Potter, saying he'd be able to keep me safe."

After a small pause, Lily asked suddenly, "What did you say earlier? Today is the fifth day of my pregnancy? That means that the child was conceived during out last night together." With that she began to cry even more.

"Lily, you must stop crying, otherwise, you'll harm the baby," Poppy said firmly. "Do you want me to call Minerva, or would you prefer going to her rooms to speak with her?"

"Can you call her please?"

Five minutes later, her former Head of House and good friend Minerva McGonagall entered the room. "Good morning, Lily, what's wrong?" she asked in concern, surprised to see the young woman, who was like a daughter to her, sit on a bed, crying.

Lily quickly filled her in, causing the older woman to frown. "Lily, as heartbreaking this must be for you, I believe that Severus was right when he said you should marry James. You need someone to keep you safe in these times, especially with a baby," Minerva said thoughtfully. "You should get together with him quickly and make everyone believe that he is the baby's father."

"Is there is a way to magically prolong a pregnancy for a few weeks?" Lily asked, turning to Poppy. As a Mediwitch in training at St. Mungo's Lily already knew a lot about healing; however, she lacked Poppy's experience, and she couldn't cast spells on herself anyway.

"I believe there is a way," Poppy said thoughtfully. "However, we'll have to do that in about two months' time, so that it'll be safe for the baby. If you still want to extend the pregnancy, come to me when you're in the tenth or eleventh week. In the meantime, I'll do some research."

"Yes please," Lily said gratefully, "provided that Potter still wants me to marry him." '_Well, he asks me every time he sees me at the hospital_,' a voice at the back of her mind spoke up.

Lily spent the whole day at Hogwarts, talking with the two older witches, and by the time she returned to Godric's Hollow, she felt very much consoled. Before she left Hogwarts, Poppy handed her a huge phial, instructing her to take one spoonful of the potion each morning to help with the nausea, and she visited the library and borrowed a few Charms books with Minerva's authorisation.

リリーの幻術能力

During the following weeks, Lily did not only approach James Potter, who was over the moon with joy that his adored Lily finally gave in as he proposed to her for the umpteenth time, but she did extensive research on concealment charms and enchantments. '_Will I be able to cast the spells at myself, or do I have to ask Minerva or Poppy for help?_' she wondered for a few days, before the small voice at the back of her head finally managed to convince her with the argument, '_You don't have to cast them on yourself anyway; you cast them on the baby_.'

Four weeks into her pregnancy, Lily and James married. Only the day before, she had sent the divorce parchments to the Ministry to cancel her marriage with Severus Snape. No one, not even her new husband noticed that she didn't officially change her name to Potter but remained Lily Snape.

A few days after their wedding, Lily cast a handful of strong charms on the baby to make it look like the man, who was not his father. Later the same day, she travelled to Hogwarts for Poppy to check on the baby.

"Lily, what did you do to the child? His magical signature is slightly different from what it was before," Poppy asked in confusion, causing the young witch to confess what she had done.

"I'm going to repeat the spells once a month though, so that they won't fail and can't be accidentally countered at least until he is seventeen," she said in a small voice.

"I understand," Poppy finally said, making a mental note to write the specific spells down in case they would be needed in the future. "I believe that the child's magic is already extremely strong for a baby in the fifth week," she said thoughtfully. "Oh well, it's no wonder considering that he is Severus' and your son. Anyway, I'll be able to cast the spell to prolong your pregnancy much earlier than I expected. Do you want me to cast it right away?"

"Of course, Poppy, yes please," Lily said gratefully and observed how the older Mediwitch waved her wand in a complicated motion.

James Potter was extremely happy when Lily told him that she was pregnant, and when Harry was finally born after ten months of pregnancy, the supposed to be father did not leave her sight. To Lily's relief, the baby looked like the spitting image of James – with the exception of her green eyes. '_Thank God_,' she mused. '_Severus always told me how much he loved my eyes. I hope he'll once be able to come back to us and claim Harry as his son_.'

Unbeknownst to her husband, Lily managed to charm the birth certificate, ending up with two certificates, one of them listing Harry James Potter with Lily and James Potter as parents, the other one confirming the birth of Alexander Severus Snape with Lily and Severus Snape as parents. No one at the ministry noticed the simultaneous birth of two boys with similar conditions. The only real difference apart from the fathers on both certificates was the godparents. While the first certificate listed Alice Longbottom and Sirius Black as godparents, the second one recorded Minerva McGonagall and Poppy Pomfrey as godmothers.

Harry loved all four of his godparents. He loved to cuddle with Alice, fly with Sirius, play ball with Poppy and called Minerva "Gwanny," which was his first word that he spoke with ten months, causing everyone to notice how strong Harry's magic was to enable him to speak at such an early age.

リリーの幻術能力

Only once, Severus visited Lily to warn her about the prophecy and instruct her to go into hiding.

Harry apparently liked the darkly clothed man and happily babbled, "Dada dada dada," causing Lily to turn white, afraid that her heart would stop beating any minute.

"Daddy is here, Harry," James called from the back, causing Lily to sigh in a mixture of relief and disappointment.

Throwing Severus a pleading look, she whispered, "Severus, please keep our child safe," not sure if he would understand what her harmless sentence implied.

Seeing that James headed outside with Harry on his shoulders, Severus pulled his wand. "Herewith, I swear on my magic to keep your child safe, Lily."

"Thank you, Sev. I love you," Lily said relieved, fighting back the tears that welled at the back of her eyes.

Only a few weeks later, Lily pleaded with the Dark Lord to leave her son in peace and kill herself instead.

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_tbc..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	2. Parent, Teacher, Enemy

**Chapter 2 – Parent – Teacher – Enemy**

Nearly two years later on Severus' first day of the summer holidays since he had become the Potions Master at Hogwarts, two of his older colleagues had the gall to disturb the quiet of his office.

"Severus, little Harry Potter will be three in a month, and we belief that it's time for you to claim him as your son," Poppy said bluntly, causing Severus to nearly choke.

"What does Potter's offspring have to do with me?" he growled, throwing his friend a menacing glare.

"Did Harry not call you 'Dada' when you visited Lily and him for the first and last time, causing Lily to fear that her heart was going to stop beating?" Minerva asked gently, having heard the whole story from Lily.

"Potter was a year old at that time," Severus sneered. "What does a baby know?"

"More than you believe to know, obviously," Poppy said sternly. "His magic is extremely strong, and it caused him to know that you were his real father."

"The child was born ten months after Lily and I separated," Severus growled, "which means that he was conceived after we divorced, and now leave me in peace."

"Because I magically prolonged her pregnancy," Poppy threw in, causing the Potions Master to look up with a mixture of exasperation and hope on his face.

"He looks like the spitting image of Potter."

"Who was the best in Charms in your year?" Minerva queried sternly.

"Lily," Severus sighed, causing a small smile to play on his lips, before his expression became firm. "Do you have any proof for your blunt allegation?"

"Yes." Minerva pulled the copies of the two birth certificates out of her robe pocket. "Thankfully, Lily was alert enough to give us a copy of the two birth certificates she filed with the Ministry." She handed the second but more valuable copy to her younger colleague.

_Name: Alexander Severus Snape  
Mother: Lily Snape  
Father: Severus Snape  
Date of Birth: July 31__st__, 1980  
Godmother: Minerva McGonagall  
Godmother: Poppy Pomfrey_

"She filed two birth certificates with the Ministry, and the dunderheads didn't notice?" Severus asked incredulously.

"According to you, eighty percent of the students here are dunderheads; since all the Ministry employees are former Hogwarts students, naturally eighty percent of them are dunderheads," Minerva replied dryly. "Now please go and get your son away from that horrible family of Lily's sister."

Severus sighed. "And how am I supposed to take him from there without being accused of child abduction? The boy looks like Potter."

Minerva let out a long sigh as well. "I tried to convince Albus to take Harry away from the Muggles and allow me to raise the child so many times – in vain. However, since you're the father..."

"I can't prove it. The certificate won't be of any help, since there is the other one claiming him to be a Potter. Anyone who looked at him could tell that that version was the correct one. I could only tell Albus that I swore a wizard's oath to keep the child safe and ask him if I may raise him. Afterwards, we could try to reverse the charms, provided that you'll be willing to help."

"Of course, Severus," Poppy replied gently, throwing the young wizard an encouraging smile.

"Of course, but it'll be difficult to convince Albus," Minerva said sceptically.

リリーの幻術能力

A few minutes later, Severus strode into the Headmaster's office, politely declining the offered lemon drop.

"How nice of you to come and visit me, my boy," Dumbledore said gently, absentmindedly petting Fawkes' head feathers. "I'm sure it must be very quiet in the dungeons all on your own."

"Albus," Severus began, sighing, "I'm glad to finally have some quiet time after ten months of dealing with hundreds of dunderheads. I came to speak with you about a completely different matter though." Seeing that the Headmaster looked at him in expectation, he hesitantly began to explain, "A few weeks before Lily died, she made me swear a wizard's oath that I would keep her son safe. I'd like to become the boy's guardian in order to fulfil my promise."

"No," Dumbledore said candidly. "I'm sorry, Severus, but I don't believe that Voldemort is completely gone yet, and many of his Death Eaters are still around as well. Therefore, the boy's safety is more important than anything else. However, for his safety the blood wards surrounding Petunia's residence are essential. You must not take the child from his aunt. I'm sure that he'll be safe and happy with her. From the time when the boy comes to Hogwarts, I want you to care for his safety. Alas, he'll still have to return home during the holidays, at least over the summer."

"Headmaster, I assure you that the boy will be completely safe at Hogwarts," Severus spoke up in his soft, silky voice, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry my boy, but that's my last word in this matter, and it would do you good to remember it, considering the conditions under which I saved you from your stay in Azkaban."

"Very well, Headmaster," Severus replied sadly, efficiently keeping his expression void of his emotions. Only when he was back in the anonymity of his own quarters, he allowed his tears to flow freely – for the first time after the night in which his Lily was murdered. '_Now I've also lost my son_,' he thought, burying his head in his pillow.

"Don't cry, Sev. Everything will be all right, even if it might take some time," Lily said gently, glancing down at him from the life size portrait that was decorating his bedroom. "Eventually, Harry will notice that he is not at all like James but that he is your son, just like he realised as a baby."

"I hope so," Severus replied, feeling strangely consoled at Lily's words. '_The Headmaster is cruel, but I can't do anything about it. The man saved me from a life sentence in Azkaban. I have to do everything he wants_,' he thought as he slowly scrambled out of bed and quickly cast a concealment charm on himself to hide his tear-stricken face, before he informed Minerva and Poppy about what the Headmaster had told him.

"He threatened you?" Minerva asked, terrified, and Severus observed in amazement as the Scottish lioness stepped into the fireplace, calling, "The Headmaster's office," in a very enraged voice.

Thirty minutes and a round of wizard's chess between the Mediwitch and the Potions Master later, Minerva returned in a very bad mood, mumbling something sounding like "stubborn old coot going nuts."

リリーの幻術能力

Over the following eight years, the three friends used every free minute to check on the small boy, who was abused and neglected by his relatives. No one, not even Harry, noticed the three animals, a tabby cat, a black garden snake with a wonderful green design on its back, and a white dove that frequently spent parts of the weekends in the Dursleys' garden. Several times, the dove carefully hid in one of the trees, before she transformed back into her human form and unobtrusively cast Healing spells on the small boy that was doing his chores in the garden. At other times, mostly during the night, the snake made its way through a few gaps in the walls of the house to the small boy's cupboard, where it quickly changed into a tall man, who silently and unbeknownst to his son spelled a few potions into the child's system.

'_Even when he comes to Hogwarts, I won't be able to tell him that he is my son_,' Severus mumbled sadly as he tried in vain to concentrate on his Head of House duties on the day before his son was going to arrive.

リリーの幻術能力

'_He looks like James Potter, and he was even sorted into Gryffindor like him_,' Severus mused in slight disappointment as he retreated into his quarters after the Welcoming feast and a small House meeting in the Slytherin common room. '_Anyway, everyone believes him to be Potter's son, so I'm supposed to hate him. I will not pamper him; no one shall be able to say I pampered my son, if it ever comes out that he is mine_,' he resolved and began to make his plans accordingly. '_Your son will also think that you hate him_,' the small voice at the back of his head warned him, but Severus shook the thought off. '_There will be a time when he'll learn to thank me for preparing him for real life_,' he objected.

From the first Potions class onwards, Severus realised that the annoying little voice at the back of his head had been correct – as usual as he grudgingly had to admit. '_The boy thinks that I hate him_.'

During the following four years, Severus did his best to keep his son safe, which was definitely not easy. He often told Lily about her son's newest actions when he let himself sink into bed in exhaustion. However, his former wife only smiled at him from her portrait and replied, "I believe that, Sev, but I'm sure that you'll be able to keep him safe."

However, neither when Severus saved Harry's life in the Quidditch match during his first Hogwarts year when Professor Quirrel tried to kill him, nor when Severus stepped between Harry and Lupin after the Defence teacher had turned into a werewolf in his third year, did Harry's opinion of him change the slightest bit.

リリーの幻術能力

When the Headmaster ordered Severus to teach the boy Occlumency, his heart skipped a beat. '_Maybe that's the chance for both of us to get to know each other a bit better_,' he thought, full of expectation.

However, due to his method of teaching in order not to pamper the child as he had sworn to himself four years earlier, from their first lesson onwards everything went downhill. Their relationship worsened after each lesson, until Harry had the gall to watch his memories in the Pensieve, which put Severus over the edge.

Completely enraged, he grabbed the first item he came along, which was a phial with a light pink potion, and threw it towards the boy, before realisation about what the potion was set in and he let himself sink back into his chair, groaning in horror at the sound of the glass hitting the boy's body.

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_tbc..._

_Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I hope you liked this chapter, even if it was a bit sad too..._

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


	3. New Beginning

**Chapter 3 – New Beginning**

A small wail brought Severus out of his frustrating thoughts, and he looked terrified at the naked baby that was lying on the floor on a small heap of black robes. When he knelt in front of the small child, he couldn't remember having moved in the boy's direction at all. He only saw his son being a baby again. With a flick of his wand, he cleaned the boy from the remainder of the potion and the glass, before he conjured a nappy and a jumpsuit for him and gently scooped him up.

"Dada," the child babbled happily, reaching for Severus' long hair with his tiny fingers.

"Yes, little one, I'm your daddy," Severus replied in his soft, silky voice, pressing a kiss on the child's forehead. "Now, we need to call Aunt Poppy and Granny Minerva."

With the child on his arms, he stepped to the fireplace to call his best friends, who arrived a few minutes later. Severus closed the fireplace to prevent anyone else, including the Headmaster, from coming through, before he quickly informed his colleagues what had happened.

"Your son is one year, two months and twenty days old, and he is completely healthy," Poppy diagnosed after a well placed diagnostic spell.

"Severus, let's cancel Lily's charms now. You can tell Albus that your wife recently died and you had to take your son in. We can charm the copy of his birth certificate to show a new date," Minerva said firmly.

"How can we explain Potter's disappearance though? Everyone knows that he had detention with me tonight," Severus queried, raising an eyebrow.

"We need Filius. He can help us counter Lily's charms, and he can make a dummy that'll look and act like Harry as Filius remembers him," Minerva replied, smirking. She headed to the fireplace, knowing that Severus had merely blocked incoming Floo calls, and contacted the Charms professor, who arrived in the dungeons ten minutes later.

"No problem, I'll help you," Flitwick said gently. "Severus, I suggest that the two of us retreat to your office for a moment. There is no need for the Dummy Harry to see the baby and ask questions."

Five minutes later, Dummy Harry was standing in front of the Potions Master. "What do you think you're doing, Professor?" he hissed. "That hurt."

"You're dismissed," Severus replied in an even voice and observed the boy leave his office as fast as he could.

"The charm will last until Mr. Potter has left for the summer holidays," Flitwick informed his colleague, who gave him an appreciative nod.

"That'll be enough. Leave it to Albus to wonder where the boy has ended up while he was supposed at his relatives' home," Severus said firmly.

"There is only one problem, although I don't think that it's really a problem. He can't use his wand to do magic. He will of course wave it, at least until he notices it, but he'll automatically perform magic with his hands while pulling the necessary magic out of his surroundings. Therefore, you should always pair him with magically strong classmates," Flitwick explained as they headed back into Severus private quarters.

Back in the living room, Minerva and Poppy were playing with the baby that was obviously used to being in his godmothers' presence.

"Very well then, shall we cast the spells on Alexander?" Severus suggested, causing Minerva to chuckle.

"Did you hear your daddy, sweetie? He's going to call you Alexander. Do you like that?"

"Alec," Harry shouted happily, efficiently grabbing Minerva's glasses with a delighted expression on his small face.

"No Alexander, give that back right away," Severus said sternly, causing the small boy to return the glasses immediately.

"I won't cast the spells with you, but I'm going to hold him and observe him in case he needs a pain relieving potion as you proceed," Poppy said, gently taking the boy from Minerva into her left arm, while she readied her wand in her right hand. "Daddy, Granny and Uncle Filius are going to cast a funny charm on you, so you can play hide and seek, all right?" she cooed, smiling at the child as she began to tickle his toes in order to distract him from the changes he might be going to feel as her three colleagues began to cast the spell.

Fortunately, the child's body only changed a little bit. His face became a bit longer, and his hair grew straight, so that Harry hardly noticed anything. He only found that his body became a bit tingly and giggled, because it was so funny.

"Very well done," Poppy commended her colleagues. "Now, since he is one year, two months and twenty days old and we have the twentieth of May 1996, his birthday is the first of March, 1994."

Severus showed his colleague the copy of his son's birth certificate. "Filius, would you be able and willing to change this copy as well as the original that is filed with the Ministry?"

Flitwick frowned. "I'll have to concentrate on the original. If I succeed, this copy here will change automatically." With that, he waved his wand in a complicated movement, muttering a long incantation, and his colleagues observed in amazement how the date on the copy in Severus' hands changed to Alexander's new birth date.

"Thank you very much, Minerva, Poppy, Filius. Now please tell me how I'm supposed to care for a one-year-old when I have to teach classes tomorrow morning?"

Everyone laughed, and Minerva replied dryly, "Well, maybe you ought to have thought about that before doing that stunt tonight."

Severus let out a long sigh. "It's not as if I had willingly de-aged the boy."

"Nevertheless, you did that very well, Severus, and I'm willing to keep an eye on my godson, while you're teaching. However, we'll need to inform the Headmaster about his presence," Poppy said gently, causing Severus to throw her a relieved look.

"I'm going to call Albus," Minerva offered and headed to the fireplace, while Filius wished them good luck and left Severus' quarters and the Potions Master waved his wand at the fireplace to re-open the Floo connection.

A few minutes later, the Headmaster stepped out of the fireplace. "Good evening," he said, glancing around in surprise. Who is that?"

"That's my son Alexander," Severus explained softly, showing the Headmaster his son's birth certificate. "The other day, I received notice that my wife has died and I had to take my son in, because he doesn't have any other relatives."

"Very well, my boy. I didn't even know that you were married," Dumbledore said in surprise, causing Severus to sigh. "I don't mind your son living with you of course, but did you think about what you're going to do with him while you're teaching?"

"Poppy has kindly offered to look after him during the day," Severus explained.

リリーの幻術能力

Three weeks later, something happened that shocked the entire wizarding world of Britain. Harry Potter and Voldemort met at the Ministry of Magic and duelled, causing them both to die at the hand of each other.

"The prophecy must have been partly wrong," the Headmaster said thoughtfully as he announced the news at breakfast in the Great Hall. "Harry did not have any power the Dark Lord knew not."

"Of course he had the power the Dark Lord knew not," Severus told Minerva and Poppy later on, when they had tea together in his quarters after the Leaving feast. Smirking at their curious expressions, he informed them about the speciality the dummy had possessed according to the Charms teacher. "He didn't use his wand, so that the Dark Lord was able to kill him with his wand at the same time as Dummy Harry extracted the Dark Lord's magic and threw the killing curse back. Thank God it was only a dummy."

"Severus, would you perhaps be willing to consider telling Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley the truth?" Minerva asked gently. "They're devastated about their friend's assumed death."

"Under no circumstances will I speak with Mr. Weasley, considering how he uses to behave towards me. However, I might be willing to inform Ms. Granger. Is she still in the hospital wing?"

"Yes Severus," Poppy said gently. "I'm going to keep her for another week."

"Very well then; I'll speak with her after everyone else returns home for the summer tomorrow morning.

リリーの幻術能力

As soon as Severus returned from the station in Hogsmeade, he strode into the hospital wing and took a seat next to Hermione's bed with Alexander on his lap.

"Hewo Mynee," Alex shouted happily, recognising the nice girl to whom Poppy had introduced to him the day before.

"Hello Alex, hello Professor," Hermione said, trying to cover her tear-stricken face with her hand. "I'm sorry, Professor," she said, unable to fight back the tears.

"Ms. Granger," Severus said softly, "Harry Potter never existed."

"What?" Hermione replied, getting very upset. "He was my best friend."

"Listen to me. Your friend Harry was my son Alex before he was de-aged and before the charms his mother had placed on him were taken off," Severus said bluntly and explained the whole story to the girl.

"May I... may I.." Hermione stuttered, sobbing, "may I cuddle with Alex for a moment?"

"Alex," Severus glanced at his son, "would you like to cuddle with Aunt Hermione for a moment to make her less sad?"

"Of couwse," Alexander shouted and climbed onto the bed, placing a sloppy kiss on Hermione's cheek.

"Thank you Alex," Hermione said, smiling under tears as she cuddled the small boy close. "Do you remember me, sweetie? Do you remember being Harry?"

Alexander threw her a confused look. "Mummy Hawwy, Dada Alec. Hmm," he replied unsurely, causing Hermione to throw the professor an enquiring look.

"Considering the potion he was hit with, he should not have the memories of his former childhood; however, considering how strong his magic is, there is a slight chance that he'll still remember certain situations," Severus said thoughtfully.

"Professor, would you mind me babysitting Alex from time to time?" Hermione asked eagerly. "I'd love to still be in his life if you don't mind."

"I can imagine that there might be times during which I'll be glad to have a responsible babysitter for my son," Severus replied softly, glancing at his son, who was sitting on Hermione's stomach happily babbling incomprehensible baby knowledge. '_Only a mother would be able to understand that_,' Severus mused, thinking how _his_ Lily had been able to fool so many great wizards and witches. '_She really was a Mistress of Charms and Enchantment_.'

**The End**

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_Thank you for your kind support throughout this story!  
_

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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